A majority of Chinese consider it improper to celebrate Christmas since it is a foreign holiday with few roots in China, an Internet survey found.

In the survey, conducted by Sina.com, one of China's most popular Internet portals, 48.4 percent of 39,268 participants said being Chinese they would not consider celebrating Christmas.

Some 45.6 percent said it would not be a problem for them as Chinese citizens to celebrate the Christian holiday, according to the survey.

Opinions posted on the website by Chinese Internet surfers ranged from indulgence to open contempt for Chinese who engage in Christmas celebrations.

"If people celebrate Christmas just to have a bit of fun, it's all right," one Internet user said. "But if it becomes more important than our own traditional holidays, you start to think if this is not excessive worship of foreign things" -- BEIJING (AFP)